Only few ml of the non denatured alcohol?Variscite - 15-6-2013 at 13:58
I certainly wouldnt, most likely contains benzene or not made for human consumption. You never know.
[Edited on 6-15-2013 by Variscite]12AX7 - 15-6-2013 at 14:03
Assuming it's not otherwise toxic (well, how could it if it's truely 100%?), I wouldn't recommend it; pure ethanol burns biological tissue due to its
intense dehydrating, de-fatting and osmotic effects. Cut with water, you'd have plain old high quality vodka.
Timkristofvagyok - 15-6-2013 at 14:13
There was a kid in the lab where I used to work who just bring one morning a half bottle of orange juice and he mixed it with abs. ethanol. Nothing
bad happened, despite he became drunk and were sent home
But abs. ethanol (99,99%) usually contain nothing else than ethanol and 0,001% of water, so it's nothing to afraid of. Even benzene is usually
avoided, they often use cyclohexane for azeortopic water removing, since it's not such toxic and carcinogen.
Also denatured alcohol is often denatured with pyridine, methanol or both. Always check the label before attempting to drinking it!amazingchemistry - 15-6-2013 at 14:14
Absolute ethanol very likely contains trace amounts of the things used to dry it (I'm thinking something like sulfuric acid or some other nastiness),
since the distillation of water-only mixtures give you the 96% azeotrope. Not sure if this is enough for it to be harmful, but as others have
suggested, why would you want to drink absolute ethanol in the first place? It burns like a mother and probably kills cells in your digestive tract as
it goes down.Sublimatus - 15-6-2013 at 14:38
I think the typical drying agent used is cyclohexane or calcium oxide.
If you're in a laboratory with instrumentation, I suppose you could always run a sample and get an idea of what contaminants you might have.kristofvagyok - 15-6-2013 at 14:56
Absolute ethanol very likely contains trace amounts of the things used to dry it (I'm thinking something like sulfuric acid or some other nastiness)
They do NOT dry alcohols with sulfuric acid! Use carbonates, molecular sieves, basic oxides or azeotropic water removal, but not
acids!papaya - 15-6-2013 at 15:01
Carbonates and 100% ethanol? How??AndersHoveland - 15-6-2013 at 15:24
Generally, it is not advisable to ingest anything that is not food grade. While it may claim to be pure, if it is not food grade there is much less of
a guarantee that it will not contain small quantities of a poisonous substance. Food grade may have a lower purity, but any impurities are sure to be
non-harmful.
Let me give you an example. If it is technical grade ethanol, they might have stored the ethanol right next to denatured ethanol, or processed it with
similar equipment used to handle methyl alcohol. If handling procedures were not correctly followed, there could be significant contamination.
So there is a sort of paradox here. The purity of the technical grade may be higher, but the small risk that it may contain a dangerous impurity is
also much higher.paulr1234 - 15-6-2013 at 22:38
I one made some cocktails with Everclear (bonafide labelled stuff, not moonshine), diluting it 50:50 with water to get to something like ABV of Vodka
(there are some premium brands at 50 but most are 40 of course).
Ya know, I did it twice, both times I consumed moderate amounts (2 or 3 cocktails) and both times I felt really strange the next morning, like I had
drunk a lot of really cheap liquor. A kind of contaminated-feeling hangover, surprised me.crazyboy - 16-6-2013 at 12:45
You'll probably be fine as long as it's not denatured, but as12AX7 mentioned dilute it with water first or mix it with soda/juice. If you have ever
tasted azeotropic ethanol you will know it's pretty rough. It really dehydrates tissue and is not pleasant or healthy. acetone - 16-6-2013 at 12:51
I still can't get the courage to drink it but I did taste it.ScienceSquirrel - 16-6-2013 at 12:55
It is quite easy to make beer or wines that are of commercial quality or better at home.
Make yourself some good home brew and leave the chemical stuff in the lab.acetone - 16-6-2013 at 13:14
Here are more details Bottle says- Ethanol absolute, danger for lab use only
Assay (by volume): Minimum 99.9%
Maximum impurities...(%)
Non volatile-----0.0001
acidity(as H+),mmol/100g----0.04
alkalinity(as OH-),mmol/100g-------0.01
Miscibility with water-------pass
methanol--------0.05
isopropyl alcohol--------0.01
fusel oil------------pass
permanganate reducing substances------pass
substances darkened by h2so4--------pass
water----------.0.1acetone - 16-6-2013 at 13:18
The bottle also says "Made in China". This scares me even more.ElectroWin - 16-6-2013 at 14:06
An acquaintance in Norway suggested taking 95% grain alcohol, and removing the last of the water using quicklime, CaO, as:
H2O + CaO --> Ca(OH)2 which is insoluble in ethanol.
but, really, you want to drink that? just drink the 95%. it will still sting your mouth and throat, just not quite as bad
[Edited on 2013-6-16 by ElectroWin]phlogiston - 16-6-2013 at 14:27
Why would you even want to?
Don't take the risk.
One lab I worked in used to buy 96% ethanol from a large local gin distillery. We had a 50 liter metal barrel in the lab with a big red sticker on it
that read "consumption alcohol"
It was pain trying to fill little squirt bottles from that huge heavy barrel.
[Edited on 16-6-2013 by phlogiston]MrHomeScientist - 26-6-2013 at 13:28
I think the "Danger for lab use only" on the label pretty much makes this an open and shut case.chemrox - 26-6-2013 at 21:29
"Danger for Lab Use Only" may have more to do with the ethanol tax than anything. But if you must drink lab alcohol use the 95% as others suggest.Mildronate - 27-6-2013 at 03:36
Yes, but its stabilized with benzene. I remember good old times when in my work was food grade ethanol (96%), much better than vodka in shops. I
suggest to put it in GC and you will see how clean it is. There is also always danger than it can be MeOH (actual MeOH smells different, but shits
happen). Remember if you do some NMR test you cant see benzene below 1%!
